The Moment of Truth
by Paige M. Carter
Summary: The truth about The Moment is revealed and Clara gets some advice. Ten/Rose(briefly) Ten 2.0/Rose(implied) Eleven/Clara. First Doctor Who fic, so be gentle.


As the three Doctors and Clara sat contemplating the painting, Ten asked the War Doctor something that had been bothering him for a long time.

"Why'd you say 'Bad Wolf Girl'?"

The older Doctor frowned, "The Moment took the form of a girl and said that she'd be very important to me. She kept telling me things, helping me…helping us. She was the one who told me that the screwdrivers were the same, just with different casings. When I was ready to push the button, she stalled me until you two arrived."

Both Ten and Eleven looked at him very hard before Eleven spoke, "What did she look like, this girl?"

War Doctor smiled, "She was pretty, blonde hair, brown eyes, I think. Beautiful smile."

His younger selves exchanged looks, "Did she give you a name?" Eleven asked.

"Yes. She first told me that her form's name was 'Rose Tyler' then she said she was known as 'Bad Wolf'. That's why I called her that. Right before she appeared, I heard rustling and the first thing she said was that it was just a wolf."

Ten buried his face in his hands and Eleven began to pace. "Do you think it's possible?" Eleven asked.

"Anything's possible. Especially when it involves _her._" Ten replied, not trusting himself to say the name.

"Hang on," Clara said, turning to the older Doctor. "You said blonde with brown eyes?" At his nod, she frowned, "The woman who gave me the number for the TARDIS was blonde with brown eyes and thick dark eyebrows."

Both younger Doctors turned to her, "Did you get a name?"

Clara struggled to remember, "No, and I don't remember seeing a uniform or a nametag. But she insisted that the number would put me through to the best help in the universe."

"So, she set things up so that Clara and I would meet again, and kept stalling you to keep you from using The Moment." Eleven laughed, but it sound more like a choked sob, "It sounds like her all over. We should've seen this, it's absolutely something she'd do."

"But _how_?" Ten asked. "The Last Time War was centuries before we met her. How could she have done it?"

"We left her part of the TARDIS back at Bad Wolf Bay when we left her back in 2008 with the Metacrisis, didn't we? Donna told them how to make it grow within a human lifetime. Maybe she went back to try and fix it."

"You clever boys," a voice said from behind them. They turned to find The Moment/Bad Wolf/Rose standing there with a soft smile on her face.

Ten faced the entity wearing his beloved's face, "Where is Rose?"

"She's here," The Moment said, serenely. "She agreed to let me…borrow her in order to help you. She remembered what you'd told her about the Last Time War and how badly it affected you.

"She's been a great deal of help, honestly. She knows you so well, no matter what face you wear. She knew that you lot would be so obsessed with figuring out how to destroy the door, it wouldn't occur to you to double check on whether the door was locked or not."

"Is she alright? Is she happy?"

"She's fine and she's very happy. Especially now that you found a way to end the war without genocide and won't have all those deaths on your conscience."

"May I speak to her?"

"Of course, but please be quick. I promised to get her home before her daughter's birthday party." The Moment's eyes flashed and Rose blinked and smiled at him.

"Did it work?"

Ten smiled and wrapped her in his arms, "It did. I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner."

Rose smiled, "You were distracted. But Elizabeth the First? Really?"

Ten laughed, "She reminded me of you, believe it or not."

Eleven, War, and Clara watched the exchange with interest. Eleven wanted to shove his predecessor aside and wrap Rose in his arms, but knew that Rose wouldn't recognize him. Clara was intrigued by the woman that clearly meant so much to the Doctors.

Finally, Rose pulled away, "I have to go. Lily's birthday party was coming up the day after I left and I need to be there."

"Lily is…"

"Lily is our daughter. She's turning five and John, the human Doctor, and I have a big party planned for her."

Ten's smile widened, "Well, we wouldn't want to disappoint Lily." Very slowly, he pulled away. "Take care, Rose Tyler of Earth. I love you."

She stroked his face lovingly, "I love you too, my Doctor." She pressed something into his hand. "I hope this will give you some comfort." She kissed his cheek before stepping back and fading away.

Ten looked at the item she'd pressed into his hand and then turned to Eleven. "Here, I can't keep this. I won't remember this anyway. Keeping it would probably cause a paradox anyway." He tried to sound calm, but they all heard the tears in his voice.

Eleven nodded, biting back his own tears and slipped the item into his pocket without looking at it.

Later, after they'd parted with the other two Doctors, Clara caught Eleven looking at some pictures. It was of a beautiful family: Rose, her husband(who looked exactly like one of the Doctor's incarnations), and two beautiful children; a boy and a girl. In every picture, they were all smiling and/or laughing. She watched as he kept going back to what looked like a wedding picture.

She'd seen love like that before, with her parents and dreamed of finding it herself. It gladdened her to know that the Doctor had once found a love like that, but it also saddened her to know that he'd lost that love. She didn't know how or why he'd lost it, but it was obviously something that still hurt him.

As she turned to go back to her room, she noticed an envelope with her name on it. Taking it back to her room, she opened it and was surprised at what she read.

_Dear Clara,_

_I'm sorry we weren't properly introduced back at the Under - Gallery. I would've like to speak with you, but there just wasn't time._

_I know you figured out that I was the person to give you the number to the TARDIS, and you're probably wondering why._

_The reason is that because of The Moment, I was able to see across universes and I know what you've done for him. You're exactly the kind of companion he needs. He doesn't do well on his own and needs companions who will pull him back from the brink, and I know you'll be able to do that._

_The other reason is that I know that you love him, even if you don't want to admit it yet, and he loves you, even though the idea is too painful for him to think about right now, so soon after the Ponds and River Song._

_Word of advice, once you're ready to acknowledge your feelings, be careful, the Doctor is very skittish when it comes to 'domestic' things. Rest assured, he does love you and will come around eventually._

_Take care of yourself, Clara, and the Doctor, I know that you'll make him very happy._

_Sincerely,_

_Rose Tyler-Smith_

_PS: Barcelona is wonderfully romantic, if you know where to go, even if the dogs are strange looking. _

Clara put down the letter with mixed feelings, but also a feeling of anticipation. When she was truly honest with herself, she was beginning to have strong feelings for the Doctor and she was hoping that the feelings were returned. Now the letter assured her that she wasn't imagining things.

She tucked the letter back into the envelope and walked to the TARDIS's kitchen. She'd fix the Doctor's favorite tea and biscuits and have them waiting when he was finished with the pictures, then she'd sit and wait for him to start talking; she knew he would, he always did, and she'd be there to listen. Maybe she'd suggest Barcelona(whatever that was) as their next destination, and see where that took them. Maybe they'd both find the love they were looking for, together.

The End


End file.
